Land of Snow and Dreams
by Manlymudkip
Summary: Luigi hears a strange noise and decides to check it out. He can't seem to catch a break from strange things happening, and this time is no exception.
1. Mama Mia thats a Spicy Meatball

Luigi considered himself to be a pretty average person.

While his brother was out exploring a new kingdom, he was busy enjoying some time to himself. No ghosts to catch, no princesses to rescue, no worlds to save, just Luigi and the welcoming silence of home.

While the green brother was having a nice dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, he heard a strange noise. Almost like the distorted sound of blowing wind. He could've sworn he heard the screeching of an animal, but it was so faint, it was being drowned out by the wind.

"Mario?" Luigi called out, beginning to freak out. He knew Mario was miles and miles away from their shared home, but calling for him always seemed to calm him down.

Steeling his nerves, Luigi went upstairs to see where the noise was coming from.

Mario's bedroom was empty. So was Luigi's. The noise definitely wasn't coming from downstairs.

There was only one more place too look. The bathroom.

Luigi grew more and more anxious as he crept twards the bathroom. Sparks of electricity flew from his quivering hands, he always had a hard time controlling his magic when scared.

"W-what am I so scared about?" Luigi mumbled to himself, "If Mario were here to see this I would never live this down."

The thought of his brother gave Luigi a burst of courage. Just enough to get him through the bathroom door.

That's when he figured it out.

The noise was coming from the mirror.

The mirror was different than it had been before. Instead of showing his reflection, it showed a haze of blue fog. The screeching grew louder with every step Luigi took towards it. He could've sworn he saw it ripple.

"Mama Mia..." Luigi said, reaching a shaking, sparking hand out to touch the mirror. "I've gotta tell Bro about this when he g-"

Luigi was cut off by six shadowy tentacles dragging him into the mirror.


	2. Local Green Bean Has A Hard Time

The Underwhere.

That was the first thought in Luigi's head as he opened his eyes and took in the scenery of the world around him.

Luigi would've hyperventilated from the thought of being back in the land of ended games, if it wasn't for the giant serpent creature in front of him.

He tried to slowly back away from the monster, but a row of tall tree-like plants suddenly shot up from the ground, almost like the creature had willed them there to stop him from getting away.

"N-nice... s-snake monster?" Luigi spat out in fear. "Y-you wouldn't w-want to h-hurt me w-w-would you?"

Silence.

The creature looked disappointedly at the man in green and flew off, leaving Luigi alone with his panicked thoughts.

\--

Luigi had no idea how long he had been here.

There was no sun or moon, so the only way he could somewhat tell the time was via the shaky routine between the Creature and himself.

Wake up. Eat some of the strange leaves for breakfast. Hunt for more of the glowing stones. Hide said stones from the Creature. Cry. Sleep. Wake up to the Creatures screeching. Leaves for dinner. Sleep. Repeat.

Luigi knew this wasn't the Underwhere. He hadn't encountered a single shayde in his entire stay. In fact, he hadn't encountered anything alive other than weird trees and the Creature itself. He longed for social interaction, even if it was with one of the cynical creatures of the Underwhere.

Besides being terrified of the Creature, Luigi didn't have anything to do. Well, besides hunting for Stones.

Luigi had discovered the Stones soon after the Creature had brought him here. The Stones were golden and sharp. They radiated a familiar dark energy that seemed to calm him down whenever he touched them.

Luigi was pretty sure the Creature wanted these Stones, too. So he did everything in his power to prevent it from discovering his stash of the only things that felt like home in this warped, distorted, Underwhere-like dimension.

One cycle, while on his routine hunt for Stones, he discovered something else. Something different. Something _new._ A hole had torn in the darkness, and through it stepped something unbelievably rare, even in his own world.

Another _human._


	3. Where for art thou, Cynthia?

Cynthia was sure that Giratina was supposed to be the only native to the Distortion World. All of the ancient Sinnoh myths had said so.

But, if that was the case, then what was this tall, scruffy looking man doing here?

The man looked to be just as surprised as she was. He was looking at her like she was an alien or something.

Cynthia wasn't enjoying the tense silence, so she decided to do something about it.

"Hello, I'm Cynthia, champion of the Sinnoh region. If I may ask, who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked. If this man truly was a native to the Distortion World then she might have just made the biggest discovery of the century!

"M-me? I'm L-luigi..." Luigi answered, his voice weak and hoarse from lack of use.

He didn't answer her question, but Cynthia would let it slide. She had a pokémon to catch, after all. She would ask him more personal questions after she had finished her business here.

"Well, Luigi, it's very nice to meet you. Would you kindly point me in the direction of Giratina?"

Luigi looked confused in response. "Gira...tina?" He looked like he was testing the name to see how it felt on his tounge.

Cynthia was shocked, to say the least. How could something live in the Distortion world and not know what Giratina is?

She tried to explain in the simplest way possible

"Yes, Giratina. A large creature that rules over this world. Do you know where it might be?"

A look of understanding.

"O-oh! The snake! G-giratina is its name? W-well, right now it should be at waterfall, just east of here!"

Cynthia was now more confused then when she first met Luigi. No matter, though. She had directions now, and Spiritomb was itching for a fight.

"I see, thank you." She said as she called out her Garchomp to fly her over to the waterfall.

\--

_"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" _Luigi thought after the human woman, Cynthia, had left.

The hole was still there. Luigi could enter it and leave this place forever.

No matter how much he wanted to leave, he couldn't stand that he had just let that lady and her dinosaur go off to confront the beast that has terrified him so much before.

_"You should've told her to leave and then followed her out, but nooooo, you had to tell her exactly where the Death Snake is right now." _

Luigi couldn't leave and have the death of this woman on his conscience.

So he did what any completely normal, average, rational, non-hero would do.

He went after her.


	4. Skiwoo skiwhy Cynthia is gonna die

This was _not_ going as well as Cynthia had expected.

The ruler of the Distortion World was much more powerful than the Sinnoh myths had described, but maybe that was because she was on _its _turf, not the other way around.

Garchomp, Rosarade, Spiritomb, Lucario, and Milotic had already fainted to Giratina, and the battle had barely just begun!

The Champion was clinging to the back of her Togekiss, desperately throwing Ultra Ball after Ultra Ball, hoping she would get lucky and one would catch.

Things begun to go even farther south when a stray Aura Sphere hit Togekiss in her left wing, almost knocking both of them out of the sky.

"Togekiss, retaliate with Air Cutter!" Cynthia called out to her faithful pokémon, hoping it would weaken Giratina enough to catch.

A cloud of dust formed when the attack connected and, sensing a chance to finally win this battle, Cynthia threw an Ultra Ball into the dust.

As the dust cleared, she saw the terrifying form of an even more enraged Giratina.

But it wasn't enraged for the reason she thought it was.

Upon flying just a little bit closer, she saw a figure firing electrical attacks at the Master of Distortion.

\--

Luigi was _not _having a good time right now.

He had frantically scrambled to the waterfall where Giratina was, and had arrived to see Cynthia and another one of her creatures getting shot at by the thing that he had pointed her to.

Cynthia's creature shot a vacuum of air at Giratina, distracting it for a second and creating the perfect cover for him.

Fueled by adrenaline and overwhelming guilt, he charged up his thunderhand and jumped into the dust cloud, firing ball after ball of concentrated electricity.

They didn't seem to be doing much damage, and Giratina look extremely angry at him, but that was exactly what he needed. Giratina's focus was away from giving Cynthia a horrible, painful death. Granted, it was onto giving _Luigi _a horrible, painful death, but that was besides the point.

Looking over to see what Cynthia was doing, he got a bit frustrated. Here he was, scared out of his mind, trying to get this girl out of a situation he put her in, and she was just floating on her bird-thing looking like she had just seen the face of Grambi himself when she could be running away!

_"I need to get her attention somehow..." _Luigi thought while narrowly avoiding getting impaled by one of Giratina's sharp tentacles.

What better way is there to get a girls attention than by throwing a ball of electricity at her?

Concentrating static into a ball, he didn't want to hurt her, he took aim at the Champion and threw.

\--

Sensing approaching danger, Togekiss launched another Air Cutter in the direction of the offending object, only for it to explode in a firework-like display of electricity.

Cynthia glanced in the direction of the figure that was fruitlessly fighting Giratina.

_"Was that a stray, or was it aiming for me?" _Cynthia pondered in her head.

Upon closer inspection, the figure looked quite familiar.

_"Luigi?"_

She decided to test her theory.

"Luigi, is that you?" Che called out at the top of her lungs.

The figure stopped fighting and looked over. Theory confirmed.

Luigi shooed her away. Was he trying to tell her to flee? That wouldn't do. She wasn't the Champion of Sinnoh for letting people die while she fled.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Cynthia exclaimed, not particularly caring that he might be a native.

She sighed in relief as the green wearing man began running twards her.


	5. Honey, You've Got A Big Storm Comin!

_Not good not good not good not good not good _was all that was going through Luigi's head as he booked it away from an enraged Giratina alongside Cynthia and her bird-thing.

The strange white creature was currently struggling to stay in the air with an injured wing and Cynthia on its back, so no matter how much Luigi wanted to, he couldn't hop on and get flown at light speed to the nearest exit.

The terrain rumbled and shook. It was tearing itself apart. With each one of Giratina's screeches more and more chunks of land began to split. One wrong step or loss of footing could send Luigi back to the Underwhere, once and for all.

"Cynthia! Where's the portal?" Luigi yelled out to his companion, his voice filled with terror. "The Murder Snake is gonna catch up any second now!"

As if on cue, Giratina screeched again. The slab of land Luigi was about to step on suddenly shifted out of the way causing him to lose his footing and nearly go tumbling into the void. If it wasn't for Cynthia's quick reflexes he would've become one of the very ghosts he was known for busting.

Gripping the collar of Luigi's shirt like a lifeline, the Champion hoisted him up.

"It should be just around the corner, I remember this area." Cynthia stated, sounding unreasonably calm, considering the circumstances.

Luigi began to scrape together just a little bit of hope.

"_Maybe we will live another day!" _He thought.

As they turned the corner, the portal out of the Distortion World came into view.

"We're almost there!" Cynthia shouted. She sounded calm and collected, but the relief in her eyes was obvious.

Cynthia sped up, Luigi began to fall behind. When she had made it to the portal, Luigi was still very far away.

"Go in!" Luigi cried, his voice filled with desperation. "I'll be right after you, I promise!"

Cynthia hesitated for a moment before nodding and hopping into the portal.

With Cynthia safe, he pushed his legs to their absolute limit. He _was _going to make it. No matter what. He had to escape and see the sun again.

Giratina's roar stopped him in his tracks. It had caught up.

Luigi was too far away from the portal to book it and escape. He had to face Giratina head-on. Definitely not the highest thing on his bucket list.

Giratina stared at him. The same pondering gaze that had greeted Luigi when he was first taken here.

Luigi's hands sparked with electricity. He couldn't tell if it was nervousness or anticipation, but he didn't exactly care at the moment.

Giratina's gaze hardened. It wasn't with disappointment, like it was on their first meeting. It was with something Luigi couldn't place_._

It charged up an Aura Sphere. Luigi readied his Thunderhand.

When Giratina fired, the Man In Green didn't even have time to retaliate. Not because he had died a horrible, painful death, but because a magical barrier shielded him from the Legendary's attack. The barrier radiated a similar feeling dark energy as the Stones, and Luigi was thoroughly terrified. His shield only manifests by itself if the incoming attack was fatal.

Giratina looked very satisfied. Like a theory had just been confirmed.

It didn't even give chase as Luigi bolted and jumped through the portal.


	6. Freedom!

This wasn't what Luigi was expecting to see.

Instead of the comfort of his own home, Luigi was spit out into some dingy, musty cave. Poor thing can't catch a break.

"Oh! You're okay! That's good."

Whipping his head around, he was greeted with the sight of Cynthia, the woman he had befriended earlier.

"W-where are we?" Luigi questioned. Cynthia looked _way_ too comfortable inside of a creepy, possibly ghost-filled cave.

"This is Turnback Cave, the only known gateway to the Distortion World. Well, not exactly known, per se, but I have many theories about this place. This was my first time testing one out.

"Well, a-are we done here? C-can we leave? Now, preferably?" The green brother's cool was completely gone at this point. He wanted to go home _so bad._

_"_Alright." Cynthia said, before grabbing his hand and leading him out of the cave.

\--

Sunlight.

It had been so long since Luigi had last felt the sun on his skin. He probably had a Vitamin D deficiency by now.

Luigi didn't care about his possible health problems at the moment, though. He was too busy taking everything in.

Outside of the cave there was a beautiful spring. Sendoff Spring, as Cynthia had called it.

There was a gentle breeze blowing that prevented it from being uncomfortably hot. In fact, it was pleasantly warm.

God, the Distortion World was cold.

Back there, there was no sun. The only sources of heat were dirt, adrenaline, and weird roc-

_Weird rocks!_

Snapping out of his thoughts, Luigi fished around in the only intact pocket in his overalls. Feeling exactly what he was looking for, he pulled his hand out, along with three glowing stones.

Cynthia stared at him in awe.

"Luigi! Where did you get those?" Cynthia exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, these? I found a bunch of them lying around in there. Do you know what they are?" Luigi questioned. He'd always been curious about them. The energy they radiated was so familiar, yet so unique. Maybe they'd help him figure out where all of his strange abilities, like his shield, came from.

"Those are Griseous Orbs, a major source of Giratina's power!" Cynthia cried. She was now certain that Luigi wasn't a native to the Distiortion world. If he was, he would've known more about the other dimension. But, if that was the case, _why did Luigi look so surprised when he exited the Distortion World?_

"Griseous Orbs, huh. Well, it's nice to finally have a name for them! I've been calling them weird stones for the longest time!" Luigi laughed. The terror had worn off by now, and his cheery personality was beginning to shine through again.

"Well, uh, do you know where we are compared to the Mush-" Luigi cut himself off. Something in his mind was screaming at him not to say where he's from. "Er, do you have anywhere I can stay for a while?"

This place definitely wasn't his world. It would be better to lay low and try to understand this place until he can go back to his own.

"Well, I own a house in Twinleaf that I never use. I'm sure you can stay there."

Cynthia's mind was going a mile a minute. This was further proof that Luigi wasn't from here. Lending him her house would give her an easy way to keep tabs on him. She may not be able to research Giratina live, but she was quite sure Luigi was related to it in some way. Researching him was the next best thing.

She released Togekiss from her pokéball and allowed Luigi to get on before sending her off to Twinleaf Town.

Watching her beloved pokémon fly away, she sighed, stretched and began to walk towards Veilstone City, pondering the recent events. Her research on Giratina wasn't going as expected, but it was getting _very_ interesting.


	7. Twinleaf

Twinleaf Town was pretty much exactly how Luigi had imagined it to be.

Togekiss had dropped him off at his temporary home a couple of days ago, and Cynthia had popped in a few times to make sure he was adjusting to the normal world properly, also giving him a gift of a belt with a few of those red and white balls that he'd seen her use in the Distortion World. He didn't know how to use them, but it's the thought that counts, he supposed.

The townsfolk were also surprisingly accepting of their new, mysterious neighbor. They greeted him with kind smiles, waves, or simple small talk.

While most of Twinleaf's inhabitants were just acquaintances to Luigi, there were two that caught his eye. Two young boys, Barry and Lucas. Barry was rash and loud, always threatening to fine people for minor inconveniences. On the other hand, Lucas was calmer, and a bit timid, but calculated. He seemed to try to keep Barry out of trouble, but usually ended up getting dragged into it.

Luigi's mind began to drift. The two boys reminded him so much of himself and his brother. How was Mario doing? Does time here pass at the same speed as home? Does anyone even notice that I'm gone?

Questions flooded the green brother's mind, giving him a migraine, he opted to go outside for some fresh air.

The warm sunlight seemed to instantly revitalize Luigi. It had been days since he'd escaped the Distiortion World and yet he still felt like the sun would disappear at any moment, like he had to absorb as much of it as possible before it happened.

His sunbathing was interrupted by the sight of Barry leaving town with Lucas reluctantly following behind. Luigi was no expert, but he was pretty sure children weren't supposed to leave town without a creature (a pokèmon, as Cynthia had called them) of their own for protection. There didn't seem to be a single one between the two of them, a recipe for disaster.

He debated whether to follow them. He didn't have a pokèmon and he was doing just fine. _"But those kids don't have Thunderhand."_ Luigi fired back at his inner voice. Making up his mind, he walked out of the towns boundaries.

\--

Luigi was _so _glad he'd decided to follow the children.

Immediately after stepping into the tall grass the two boys were attacked by a hoard of bird-like pokèmon. There was no time to contemplate the logistics of running headfirst into a group of angry creatures, so that's exactly what Luigi did.

His hands balled up into electricity-coated fists, he charged into the fray. Half of the birds flew away at the sight, but the few that remained were unfortunate enough to be thrashed by an adrenaline-pumped Luigi. When he came to his senses, he was greeted with the sight of two awestruck boys, a stunned professor, and a confused young girl. Looked like he had some explaining to do.

"Oh my god!" Barry shouted, "That was so cool! How'd you learn ThunderPunch? How'd you know we were here? Why-"

"Enough." The professor silenced Barry with one word. "What you two did was irrational, rash, and frankly, stupid. If it wasn't for this man here you both could be critically injured or dead! What compelled you to try something like that?"

"W-well, Sir, we were trying to cross the grass to come meet you." Lucas piped up, having been silently staring at the ground. "We wanted to a-ask for pokèmon to call our own!"

The professor stood, thinking. Then he spoke. "You were willing to go into tall grass to get a pokèmon from me? How do I know you won't put them into a dangerous situation?"

Barry yelled out his answer before Lucas had even registered the question. "I would put my life on the line for my pokèmon! Even if we do get in a tough spot, we'll work it out together!"

That was all that the professor needed to hear. "Dawn, my briefcase, please?"

The assistant snapped out of her daydream and passed the case to the professor. He opened it and allowed the two boys to pick a pokèmon of their choosing. Barry chose a monkey-like, fire pokèmon befitting of his personality, while Lucas chose a plant-like turtle pokèmon, perfect for his mellow attitude.

With their new friends by their side, the boys ran off towards Twinleaf. Luigi was about to do the same when...

"Excuse me, but could I ask you to come with me back to my lab? I have a few questions I'd like to ask."

Luigi sighed. He should've known the civilization that relied on domesticated creatures for protection wouldn't be familiar with magic. Planning out his answers for the questions he thought were most likely to be asked, Luigi followed the professor and his young assistant to his lab in Sandgem Town.


	8. Explanations

The walk to the professors lab was... akward, to say the least.

It was completely silent between the three of them. The professor was walking with purpose, completely oblivious to the deafening quiet. Luigi was trailing behind, struggling to avoid eye contact with the assistant. He'd noticed her glancing nervously at him, but bringing it up would probably just make it more akward than it already was.

They finally reached the lab. It was surprisingly small. The professor sent his assistant to another room to fetch some things. While she was gone he set two chairs down in preparation for the upcoming conversation.

"Come, sit." He said to the nervous man in green. "We've yet to introduce ourselves. My name is Professor Rowan."

"I'm Luigi." He shakily said before sitting down.

"Well, to start off, I must thank you for saving those two boys. They would be dead if it weren't for you."

Luigi sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "It really wasn't a problem! I'm sure anyone else would've done the same."

"Well, yes. But I'm quite sure no one else would come rushing in wielding abilities that only pokèmon are known to have."

Just then, his assistant returned with the things Prof. Rowan had asked for. She handed one of them to him and set the rest on a table on the other side of the room, before waving goodbye and walking out of the lab.

"Just in time." Luigi heard the professor say under his breath as he pointed the strange object at Luigi.

"ERROR - UNIDENTIFIED POKÈMON DETECTED" The device stated.

The professor sighed. "Well, that proves that you aren't a pokèmon. At least, not a known one."

"Oh, I'm a human! Well at least, considered a human?" Luigi responded.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"The humans here are different than the ones back home. And there are so much more of them! Before coming here I'd only seen around 5 other humans! It's quite jarring actually!"

The professor scribbled something into a notebook.

"Hmm, and where exactly did you come from? I can't imagine it's anywhere around here." He questioned

Luigi thought for a bit, not exactly sure what to say. Would the professor even believe him?

"Another universe, I'm pretty sure. I... don't really wanna talk about it." Luigi stated.

The professor continued writing in his notebook. He wasn't exactly certain that this strange man wasn't a new pokèmon in disguise, but he would humor it for a while.

"Alright then. If I'm going to let you leave this lab, you're going to need some protection in the form of a pokèmon." Professor Rowan firmly stated.

"But I-"

Luigi was cut off by the professor. "I know you can protect yourself. The problem is that seeing a human do incredible feats like what you did earlier is sure to cause a panic. Now, accept my gifts. You have no choice in the matter."

"O-okay." Luigi accepted the offer.

"Excellent!" The professor exclaimed, grabbing the rest of the items that were left on the desks and handing them to Luigi. "This is a Pokèdex, it's an electronic encyclopedia that automatically records the data of any pokèmon you've encountered. These are your pokèballs. They can capture a pokèmon to add to your team." He explained while placing the items into the green brothers hands.

"And finally, your Pokètch. An electronic watch that can use many useful apps." The professor said while slipping the watch on Luigi's wrist.

"Now, if you open this specific pokèball, you'll find your new partner. I trust you'll get to know each other eventually." The professor said while shooing Luigi out of the lab.

Confused and dazed, Luigi left the small biulding before he could even comprehend anything the professor said.

-

After Luigi left the lab Prof. Rowan took a moment to think about what just happened.

A strange creature in a human disguise had saved the lives of two young boys and had given itself away in the process. A nobel deed, indeed. However, a single good deed wouldn't stop the professor from keeping tabs on it.

Which was exactly why the Pokètch he had gifted it was equipped with a tracker and an energy tracking system.

-

Luigi made his way back to the house in Twinleaf Town and decided to look over the things the professor had given him.

The watch and the Pokèdex weren't that interesting. The real juicy part was the pokèballs.

Five if them were empty. Nothing emerged from them when he pressed the button on the front. But one of them, the one that Professor Rowan had pointed out and said his new partner was inside.

The idea of a "new partner" scared the green brother.

The only person he had ever really worked well with was his brother.

Shaking away the thought, he pressed the button.

As the red glow died down, he was greeted with a small, plasma-like creature buzzing up and down.

He reached his hand out to touch the creature, and was immediately zapped by the plasma layer surrounding it.

The creature looked startled, before giggling. It had never seen a human that could touch it and not be rendered helpless, paralyzed and spasming on the ground. This was an interesting one, that's for sure!

Luigi, now accustomed with the unfamiliar electricity coursing through him, rubbed the plasma creature on the head.

"You seem like a friendly guy!" Luigi happily said. "I think I'll call you Zappy!"

Zappy blinked, then giggled. This was going to be _way _more fun than sitting around in the lab, he could feel it!


	9. Spooky

Three days had passed.

Luigi and his new partner watched Barry and Lucas leave the small town, standing by the exit and waving goodbye. Luigi had to admit, he'd miss seeing those boys around.

Just as he was about to go back inside, Lucas' mother, Johanna, ran up to him.

"Luigi! I'm glad I found you in time!" Her voice quivered, had she been crying?

"I-I know I should be happy that he's finally growing up, and that he's following his dreams, but..." she rubbed her arm nervously, "Can I ask you a favor? Can you go out there and keep my boy safe? Just point him in the right direction, maybe give him some tips? I'm sorry for asking so much of yo-"

Before she could finish, Zappy excitedly bobbed up and down in approval. He looked at his partner with pleading eyes, begging for adventure.

Luigi gave his partner a long stare before turning to look at Johanna.

"Just keep him safe and on the right track? That's simple enough! I'll pack up and get going!"

Truthfully, Luigi was already planning on leaving. He wanted to find out why he was taken here, and how he could get back home. He couldn't do that by just sitting around! Keeping tabs on the two boys wouldn't be a problem at all.

"You will? Thank you so much!" Johanna exclaimed, "Take these as a token of gratitude!" She handed Luigi a metal container.

"You really don't have to-" Luigi's sentence was cut short by Zappy, who had shocked him. The electric pokèmon buzzed happily at Johanna, before zipping back towards the house.

"Guess I should catch up to him, huh?" Luigi sighed.

Johanna giggled at the pokèmon's antics. "Thank you for everything, Luigi."

"No problem!" The green interloper happily said before following his partner. It really was about time he got going.

\--

Luigi and his partner arrived in Sandgem town without mishap. After checking in with Professor Rowan, he checked hit Pokètch to see where he should head next.

"You think we could make it to Jubilife City before sundown?" Luigi asked his partner.

Zappy sparked and giggled.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go!"

The two of them made their way out of the town, and the second they entered Route 202, they were recognized.

"Oh, hey Mister! Good to see you!" Lucas called out to Luigi.

"Nice to see you too! My name's Luigi, by the way." He fiddled with his Pokètch.

"What brings you here?" The young trainer asked. "I thought you were staying in Twinleaf?"

"I... have things to do." Luigi answered. It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the full truth. "You're headed to Jubilife, right? Mind if Zappy and I join you?" He asked, pointing to the Rotom floating behind him.

"Not at all." Lucas still felt like he hadn't thanked Luigi enough for saving his life, so having him tag along for a bit was the least he could do.

"Hey, before we get going, how about a quick battle? "The young trainer asked. "I want to test my strength againt you."

The last time Luigi had seen a pokèmon battle was when Cynthia was fighting Giratina in the Distortion World, but he had read about them in books. Two trainers pit their pokèmon against each other in a friendly match. On paper it sounded... Questionable, but who knows! Maybe it could be fun!

"Uh, sure!" Luigi accepted, "But don't beat me _too _bad, I've never done this before!"

\--

The two trainers stood on opposite sides of a small clearing.

"No items, one pokèmon only!" Lucas explained, readying a pokeball.

"Alright Zappy, lets see what you can do!"

"Go Turtwig!"

The two beginner trainers called out their pokèmon, and the battle officially started.

"Use Tackle!"

The little turtle began charging towards the opposing pokèmon, prepared to ram head first into it.

"Block it!" Luigi called out to his partner. He had no idea what to do, and had faith that Zappy would think of something on the fly.

Instead of moving out of the way, or blocking like his partner had said, Zappy simply floated in place.

"Zappy, what are you doing! Do something!" Luigi frantically called out to his pokèmon.

As the charging Turtwig drew closer, Luigi closed his eyes. He _really _didn't want to see his partner get flung ten feet away once he got hit.

However, when Luigi opened his eyes, instead of the knocked out form of Zappy, he was greeted with the sight of the electric pokèmon buzzing around his head and giggling!

"Of course, I should've known that my attacks wouldn't land, considering Zappy's typing!" Lucas laughed, picking up the slightly dazed Turtwig and carrying it in his arms. "Guess I have to forfeit. All my pokèmon know are normal moves, I could'nt land a hit if I tried!"

Luigi was extremely confused. "I'm sorry but what exactly happened?" He asked.

"Turtwig's Tackle went right through Zappy. It _is _a ghost type after all." Lucas explained.

Ah, of course a ghost type. Makes sens- wait, a _ghost?_ Luigi went rigid for a second. His new partner was a ghost? It was ironic. One of the things he enjoyed about this world was a lack of ghosts, but little did he know that not only was his _partner _a spectral creature of the night, but there was also apparently enough of them to warrant their own classification?

But Zappy can't be a bad ghost, could he? He'd already befrended polterpup back home, and E. Gadd keeps a bunch of friendly ghosts around to help him with work. Maybe he was overreacting?

With his inner monologue over, Luigi relaxed. "Oh, of course. I get it!" He said, trying to look like he'd known that all along.

"I guess I just have to wait to battle you until I get stronger! I hope you'll get strong too, so I can have a worthy opponent!" Lucas replied with a large smile on his face.

With that, the two trainers began their trek towards Jubilife City.

\--

Cynthia sighed as she exited the empty house in Twinleaf. She was planning on popping in to check on her strange friend, and possibly learn more about him, but according to her friend Johanna, he had left the day before!

The Champion decided that instead of admitting defeat and returning home, she would talk to the Professor about the green wearing interloper. Perhaps he would know something about the subject?

Driven by determination to learn more about both Giratina and her strange new friend, she headed in the direction of Sandgem Town.


	10. Quarentine

Giratina's little pet project wasn't going as well as they had hoped.

They could no longer sense the powerful darkness that radiated from the fearful human they had stolen away. It seemed it was purposely hiding that power. Either that, or they didn't know how to control it.

Both outcomes were... less than ideal.

Fortunately for the Renegade Pokèmon, this human wasn't the sharpest Pawinard in the pack. It was still carrying around a Griseous Orb, which made locating it _remarkably _easy. It was honestly a wonder they didn't think of planting one on it themselves, it certainly made the process much simpler.

Giratina was getting quite annoyed at the human's antics. All it ever seemed to do was stumble around in confusion, and not a single bit of it's dark power had reared its head since they had released it upon the Sinnoh region. At this rate, this little experiment would be a bust.

The Renegade Pokèmon entertained the idea of intimidating the human into retaliating. After all, it has worked last time. However, there was no way of telling if it would strike back at all, yet alone with it's power. It could just as easily run away, and unlike in their realm, there were places it could hide.

There was also the problem that it seemed to be avoiding reflective surfaces, so the thought of attacking through a mirror was quickly discarded.

If they wanted to Pressure it into using its power, they would have to enter Sinnoh in their altered form, but breaking into Arceus' realm took quite a bit of energy. Energy that Giratina didn't have at the moment.

Giratina was a patient pokèmon, however. And if all went according to plan, the following destruction would most definitely reimburse them for any time wasted.

Coiling itself up on top of one of many floating stone platforms, Giratina began storing power.

After all, it had all the time in the world.

...

Cynthia strolled into Prof. Rowan's lab, comepletly ignoring the awed stares she received on the streets of Sandgem town.

"Professor?" Cynthia called out into the seemingly empty lab.

"Champion Cynthia? Please hold on, I need to finish up with something. I will be out shortly." Was the reply from the other room.

Making herself comfortable, the champion took a seat in a soft chair.

As she looked around the room, her eyes landed on an open briefcase. Cynthia immediately recognized it as the one that normally contained three rare pokèmon. It was empty now, save for some pieces of loose-leaf paper. Had the old Professor really given in and send children on pokèmon journeys? That would mean that at least one aspiring champion would show up at the league, sooner or later. And judging by the regions surrounding Sinnoh, they were bound to be powerful.

After she was finished with her research she would have to intensify her training.

"Hello, Cynthia. What brings you here today?" The professor questioned.

With the professors words snapping her out of her thoughts, she replied, "I was just wondering if you've seen a tall, scruffy, confused looking man wearing green around, and if you had any information about him."

"Ah yes," Proffessor Rowan replied. "You're asking about Luigi, correct?"

"Yes! Do you know anything?" Cynthia asked, excitement beginning to bubble up inside her. The idea of leaning more about not only Giratina, but also her new friend, filled her with anticipation.

"I believe he is a pokèmon in disguise. He revealed himself by using ThunderPunch on a few starly's to save two young boys."

A pokèmon in disguise? The idea was plausible, judging by Luigi's strange mannerisms and abilities. It would also explain why he seemed to be hopelessly confused about things like battling. But there weren't supposed to be any pokèmon native to the Distortion World, and Luigi wasn't like any pokèmon Cynthia had ever seen.

Prof. Rowan continued. "I did not wish to scare him off by revealing that I know what he is, so I gave him the starting trainer gear and a Rotom. His Pokètch is also fitted with a few tracking devices, so I'll know if there are any anomalies."

Cynthia pondered this information for a moment. "Professor, could you give me access to the data of the trackers? It would be quite useful in my research." She asked.

"Of course, champion. All I ask is that if you discover anything about him, you will let me know. And that you refrain from telling anyone about this."

Cynthia agreed to the professor's conditions and shook his hand.

Once the data was sent to Cynthia's Pokètch, she bid him goodbye and left the lab.

The second she left the building, a crowd formed around her, snapping pictures and asking for autographs.

She had completely forgotten about this part of being the Sinnoh champion.

With a second sigh, she accepted her fate and took out a pen.

She was going to be here for a while.

...

Jubilife City was a bit crowded for Luigi's taste.

After bidding farewell to Lucas, Luigi decided to explore the city a bit, before retiring to a Pokèmon Center for the night.

There were almost no empty rooms, and he could hear excited young trainers giddily talking to each other and battling downstairs.

Giving up on the idea of sleep, he looked out the window at the night sky. He missed his brother dearly. Pushing back the thought that he might never see him again, Luigi thought about his new friends. Lucas was most likely outside, catching more pokèmon, and Grambi knows where Barry was. Probably getting into trouble with that monkey of his.

Luigi smiled, glancing over at Zappy, who was sleeping on the bed.

Everything was going surprisingly smoothly, but Luigi knew not to get comfortable. The universe always found a way to throw him for a loop.

With his luck, that shadow creature, Giratina, would come slithering out of that horrible place when he least expected it.

The thought of Giratina made Luigi nervous, like something terrible was going to happen sooner or later.

The man in green shivered, climbing back under the covers and focusing on the sound of happy trainers and thoughts of his brother to block out that terrible feeling.

He didn't sleep much that night.


End file.
